In some ways, the Colorado Rapids’ 4-1 loss in their elimination game against L.A. Galaxy on Friday night exemplified the season they put together: down, way up, then way back down.
First, a one-off goal conceded by way of a deflection at a bizarre angle that you might see once every thousand games. Then a howler of a shot to tie it up and gain momentum. Finally, two goals conceded at the very end.
But the Rapids showed energy and character in plenty of big moments, something that couldn’t be said for the two years prior.
No matter how sorely the season ended, 2024 offered a glimmer of hope. Like the sea of burgundy and blue flags pulsating back and forth at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in the 39th minute on Friday night, soccer is alive again in the Centennial state.
Life back in the stands
When Keegan Rosenberry reflects on the 2024 MLS season, his first as captain of the Rapids, one of the proudest accomplishments was re-energizing the fan base.
The fanbase had just endured the worst season in franchise history in 2023, just a couple of years after crashing out in the first round of the 2021 MLS Cup playoffs as the Western Conference’s top seed. And the fans were starting to forget what winning felt like.
The 2024 season, with a revitalized culture behind coach Chris Armas, washed that taste away up until the closing stretch of the season.
“Part of our goal to start the year was to win that fanbase back after a couple of unsuccessful seasons, especially last year being very disappointing and hard to get through, we had to win some people back,” Rosenberry said. “I think we did that and I think we made some new fans out of people and that’s a big accomplishment in our eyes.
“There are some tangible accomplishments with the Rocky Mountain Cup, the third place in Leagues Cup, (a spot in) the Champions Cup, all these things, but I think the way we’ve come together and immediately, under new leadership, have started this new system with new tactics and took it in stride. It’s very difficult to, from one year to the next, have that big of a turnaround.”
Lessons learned
Armas doesn’t go a day without learning something about his team, a player, or an aspect of coaching. For the first-year Rapids coach, it’s one of the best ways to improve at any level.
The foundation he helped lay in Colorado was put together in part by encouraging everyone around him to do the same. For midfielder Oliver Larraz, who scored on a long-range crack against L.A. and forced penalties with a prettier strike in the Leagues Cup third-place game, the education came quickly.
After some injuries left the defensive midfield thin, Larraz was thrust into a starting role early on after only ever playing 22 minutes in MLS. Over 27 starts, 36 games and more than 2,200 minutes, the 23-year-old discovered that whatever he uses to rest and recover, he should probably get the high-mileage stuff next season.
“(I learned) the impact a season has, how long it is and how important the playoffs are because I feel like we had a very, very good season and at the end of the day, in terms of MLS Cup, we don’t have anything to show for it,” Larraz said. “So going into next year, focus on doing all the right things throughout the year and preparing yourself for the end of the year because that’s when it really matters: getting into the playoffs but then being ready to fully go, which was new for me.
“In my mind (in the past), throughout the season, you’re always going the same way, fighting until the end of the season and then it’s kind of a relief at the end of the season, we’re done. But this season showed me that the importance is right now.”
Worthwhile investment
Aside from the culture fashioned by Armas, whose level of urgency matched his grandiose goal-setting, the fact the Rapids poured relatively big money into players who made instant and consistent contributions is encouraging. After transferring former center back Moïse Bombito for a club-record $7.7 million, they’re in a good position to do more of the same this offseason.
The most glaring need for club president Pádraig Smith over the offseason, outside of finding another star out wide and in the defensive midfield, is to add depth to the roster.
There isn’t much firepower coming off the bench for the Rapids — a problem that was most glaring when down a goal against good teams. But the real issue lies in the long-term ability to rotate lineups and rest players when needed.
Five players racked up more than 2,500 minutes this year in the regular season alone, and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic was 27 minutes away from being the sixth. The last time the Rapids had that many players log that many minutes was in 2011.
Add in the Leagues Cup run, tiring itself in its two-games-per-week structure, and you’ve got some tired legs by the time it counts. This Rapids team is young but does not have unlimited stamina.
“I think it’s important that we take a step back and we have a strategy with the bosses and say, ‘How do we tweak things and add to the roster in certain ways?’” Armas said. “That’s going to be important to reach our ultimate goals, but we have to be honest and say what we have is pretty good, too — we’ve accomplished a lot of good things.”
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